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a consumer guide to pesticide

issues in the food chain

Acknowledgements
Pesticides on a Plate:
a consumer guide to pesticide issues in the food chain
Design and layout:
Rebecca Richings
Published by:
Pesticide Action Network UK
Development House,
56-64 Leonard Street,
London EC2A 4LT
Tel: 020 7065 0905
admin@pan-uk.org
www.pan-uk.org
Photos are copyright of PAN UK, unless otherwise credited.
PAN UK, London, 2007.
PAN UK is a registered charity (UK No. 327215)
This booklet has been produced with the financial assistance of theEuropean Community and the
Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation for PAN UK's project entitled Food & Fairness: Changing supply
chains for African livelihoods and environment. The views expressed herein are those of PAN UK
and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Community.

ISBN: 978 0 9549542 6 0

Contents
1. What are pesticides?

2. Why should I be concerned?

3. How do I know what pesticides my food contains?

4. How and why do pesticides end up in our food?

13

5. How can we avoid pesticides ending up in our food?

16

6. What about the effects on farmers and farm workers?

18

7. What are supermarkets doing about this?

22

8. Are pesticides in food and farming the only problem?

24

9. Who should pay to solve these problems?

26

10. Some good news stories

28

11. What can I do personally?

31

12. Further reading and resources

34

1. What are pesticides?

Hundreds of natural and manmade harmful or poisonous
substances surround us in our
21st century world. Pesticides are
just one group but they are unique
in being the only chemicals
designed and deliberately
released into the environment by
humans, to kill or damage other
living organisms. You can tell this
from their name- the ending -cide
literally means killer in Latin. The
term pesticide covers a wide range
of chemicals used to control insect
pests (insecticides), plant diseases
(fungicides), weeds (herbicides),
rats and mice (rodenticides), slugs
and snails (molluscicides) or other
unwanted organisms. Several
pesticides were originally
developed as nerve poisons to be
used as instruments of war. When
peace came, their manufacturers
found a ready new market for these
products as pest control agents.

Today insecticides are sprayed on

crops and in homes to kill
unwanted insect pests, and
fungicides to control microscopic
organisms that cause diseases in
crop plants or mould and rot on
walls and timber. Herbicides
(weed-killers) are often sprayed on
fields, paths, pavements, along
road and rail lines, golf courses
and gardens to control plants
growing in the wrong place. And
it is not only farmers that use them
- many people use them in their
homes and gardens or on their
pets (e.g. flea collars) and
pesticides may also be found in
household products such as
headlice treatment shampoos,
bathroom mould cleaners, carpets,
mothballs, anti-bacterial soaps and
lawn feeds. Public and private
organisations may use them in
their buildings and surroundings,

WHAT ARE PESTICIDES?

usually without telling their staff,

customers or other members of
the public.
There are over 1,000 different
pesticides used in the world today
yet most people have probably
only heard of the most notorious
ones like DDT and Agent Orange.
DDT was used in huge quantities
for three decades after World War
Two as a miracle cure for many
insect pests in
agricultural crops
and against
household and
mosquito pests,
until the first
signs began to
appear that it
could have
harmful effects
on many other
animals. Rachel
Carson published her famous
book Silent Spring in 1962
drawing public attention to the fact
that DDT was harming birds and

causing their
numbers to
decrease
dramatically. DDT
has been banned
for 20 years now in
Britain and many
other countries but
because it breaks
down so slowly and builds up in
the fatty tissue of all animals (and
animal food products like meat,
fish, butter and
cheese) it has
left a toxic
legacy around
the globe.
Traces of DDT
can be found in
polar bears
and seals in
the Arctic,
.
thousands of
miles from
where it was sprayed. Almost
everyone on the planet now has
DDT in his or her body and it gets
passed to babies in breast milk.

Over 31million kg of
pesticides were
applied to UK crops
in 2005, equivalent
to 0.5kg per person
living in Britain

Helecopter spraying Agent Orange

WHAT ARE PESTICIDES?

Pesticides regularly contaminate

homes, schools, workplaces,
countryside and urban public
spaces, soil, water, air and
wildlife not to mention food and
drink and humans themselves.
This guide gives basic
information on the unintended
side effects of reliance on
pesticides and suggestions on

how to reduce your exposure to

these expensive and harmful
substances. PAN UK also works
to promote safer alternatives for
controlling pests, weeds and
plant diseases and you can find
out about non-toxic solutions for
pest problems in your home and
garden on the PAN UK website
(see section 12).

Pesticides are often used where children play.

Photo: Patti Adair

2.Why should I be concerned?

People often do not realise that
died in Britain in 2004 as a result
many commonly used pesticides
of accidentally drinking paraquat
are potentially harmful to human
stored in unlabelled bottles.
health. Some pesticides are
Other groups of pesticides may
immediately poisonous (acutely
result in subtle, long-term
toxic) not only to the pests
harm to human health.
they target but also to
These chronic effects
humans and many
may take many years
other animals. For
to turn into noticeable
example, insecticides
symptoms so it is very
in the
hard to link a particular
organophosphate
health problem to
group work by
earlier exposure to
disrupting the
pesticides. Weednervous system of
killers and
the target insects.
fungicides target
However, the
biological
human nervous
processes in plant
system works in
and fungal tissues
much the same
which are very
way as insect
different from
systems and so
animal biology, yet
we are vulnerable
scientific research now
to the same
shows that some of
harmful effects. The
these may lead to a
herbicide paraquat is
variety of health
another highly toxic
problems. It is becoming
compound,
clearer that many
responsible for
substances used for pest
thousands of
control can lead to health
human poisonings
problems such as
worldwide each
Targets of chronic
different types of cancer,
pesticide toxicity
year. Two people

Parkinsons disease, infertility, low

birth weight of babies or disruption
of normal sexual development,
damage to tissues, cells and
genetic material, and even
behavioural or mental problems
including depression, lower IQ and
attention deficit disorder.
Many different groups of people
are at risk from exposure to toxic
pesticides, including consumers,
farmers and farm workers and
residents in rural areas. Millions
of people per year worldwide
experience some form of acute
pesticide poisoning. The majority
of these are poor farmers, their
families and farm workers in

developing countries, where there

are unlikely to be effective
controls on pesticide handling and
where some of the most acutely
toxic pesticides are frequently
applied without any form of
protective clothing. The numbers
are imprecise because so few
poisonings in developing
countries are treated in hospital
and therefore never enter official
statistics. Estimates of chronic ill
health are even harder to make.
What is certain is that the most
vulnerable groups at risk are the
very young, the elderly, those
with illnesses or poor nutrition
and pregnant women and the
unborn child.

BOX 1.
Pesticides can cause harm at very
small doses. Many of the newer
pesticides on the market work at
incredibly small
concentrations, measured
in parts per million or
even parts per billion,
equivalent to less
than a teaspoonful
diluted in an
Olympic-size
swimming pool.

Tiny amounts can wreak havoc in

the environment, for example, in
2001, just a quarter of a litre of
the insecticide chlorpyrifos
spilled by accident into a
river in Sussex wiped out
aquatic insects along a
20km stretch downstream
and caused mass fish
deaths.

WHY SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?

People are not the only potential

victims of pesticide poisoning:
wildlife, livestock and household
pets are also at risk. The
increasing use of pesticides in UK
agriculture has resulted in well
documented declines in species
of native British songbird,
including the yellowhammer,

corn bunting, partridge and

skylark. There have also been
numerous instances of other
wildlife, such as birds of prey and
foxes, being fatally poisoned by
pesticides, either intentionally or
accidentally; 455 birds of prey
have been killed by pesticide
poisoning in Scotland since 1999.

There are legal controls on spraying next to

water courses but no such protection for
people living in houses close to farmland.
UK farmers are required to warn
beekeepers 48 hours prior to spraying but
rural residents usually get no warning.
Yellowhammer numbers have declined in the UK as a result of pesticide use.

Photo: RSPB images

WHY SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?

Household pets are also prone to

being poisoned as a result of
directly ingesting pesticides,
notably slug pellets, or indirectly
by eating animals such as rats
and mice that have been
poisoned.

or working close to regularly

sprayed fields, walking on public
rights of way near sprayed areas
or bringing pesticide traces into
their homes on the soles of their
shoes and other items which may
be
contaminated.

On average, 30% of
the food purchased
by the British public
contains pesticide
residues

In the UK, there

are regulations
for safety
measures and
protective
equipment for
people
handling
pesticides professionally. However,
pesticides can also affect the
health of other people, who are
exposed without any form of
protection and may not even know
that they are coming in contact
with harmful substances. These
include people living

Daily intake of a
mixture of
residues in tiny
doses in
ordinary food
and drink is
probably the
commonest route of public
exposure to pesticides. On
average, 30% of the food
purchased by the British public
contains pesticide residues,
according to government data.
The following section looks at the
issues for consumers.

3. How do I know what

pesticides my food contains?
As a result of the widespread use
of pesticides in all areas of food
production, much of the produce
available to buy may have
pesticide residues present. The
presence of residues is not
confined to fresh fruit and
vegetables but can also occur in
fish, meat, dairy and processed
goods such as cereal products,
bakery items, tea, coffee, juice
and chocolate.
The UK government has an
ongoing programme of testing
foods for pesticide residues,
overseen by the Pesticide
Residues Committee (PRC) which
publishes quarterly
reports on its
findings. Samples
are taken from a
range of food
outlets (mostly retail
stores) across the
UK. Some foods
(for instance bread,
potatoes and
apples) are
surveyed each year,
others less
frequently. In 2006
about 40 different

foods were tested and the total

number of samples analysed was
3,562. The amount of produce
tested is only a tiny fraction of
what is actually available and
there is almost no testing of
residues in the food service,
restaurant and catering chains,
with the exception of fresh fruit in
schools.
Since 2005 PAN UK has used the
PRCs reports to compile our own
assessment of the monitoring
data. We used the PRC's data
from 2000 to 2006 to determine
what foods have been tested
and what pesticides were found.

Photo: Richard Sweet

We looked at how often pesticides

at any level were detected, how
frequently legal levels were
exceeded and how often more
than one pesticide was found on a

sample. This information is

provided on the PAN UK
webpages Hidden Extras:
Pesticides in Your Food at
www.pan-uk.org/Projects/Food/

TABLE 1.
The top five fruits, vegetables and other foods most frequently
contaminated by pesticides
Product

Number of samples

% with residues

Fruit
Soft Citrus e.g. mandarins
Citrus
Pears
Bananas
Strawberries

167
512
1066
205
283

100%
91%
73%
71%
70%

70
70
137
51
48

76%
74%
69%
53%
48%

4
107
34
34
137

100%
98%
91%
85%
82%

Vegetables
Speciality Beans
Salads
Celery
Herbs
Potato chips

Other food items

Barley, pearl
Bran
Rye
Oats
Wheat grain

10

HOW DO I KNOW WHAT PESTICIDES MY FOOD CONTAINS?

PAN UK undertakes this work for

a number of reasons:

To provide a clearer and

more user-friendly
summary of the test
results for the public
To assess trends in the
presence of residues on
particular food items
To identify which food
items would result in the
greatest consumption of
pesticide residues
To identify which
pesticides most frequently
occur as residues and to
provide information on the
potential health impacts of
these substances

Not all fruit and vegetables are

equally likely to contain pesticide
residues. PAN UKs assessment
has identified those foodstuffs with
the highest amounts or that most
frequently contain residues. This
should not be taken as the last
word in residue levels but merely
as an indicator of the foods that
might be best avoided and
preferably sourced organically
(see section 11 below). Table 1
details the top five most frequently
contaminated fruits, vegetables
and other foods, as of August
2007. This information is liable to
change as new government
testing results become available.
For the most up to date
information please regularly visit
the PAN UK website. PRC surveys
often include a few organic
samples, and in the vast majority
of these no residues are found.

UK Government data shows that from

2000 2006, of the apples tested for
pesticide residues, 60% were found to
contain residues. In total residues of 43
different pesticides were found on the
samples.

11

HOW DO I KNOW WHAT PESTICIDES MY FOOD CONTAINS?

While it is highly unlikely that UK

consumers would suffer acute
poisoning from the tiny
concentrations of pesticides
regularly found in food, it is the
possible long-term consequences
that are of concern. Current risk
assessment by EU governments
is done on a single chemical
basis, yet the public are exposed
to a daily diet of a mixture of
pesticides, and scientists have
very little understanding of how
these cocktails may act inside the
human body. Some medical

practitioners are concerned about

subtle effects on the development
of the nervous system of children
under five years old and babies in
the womb, linked to cumulative
exposure to neurotoxic
compounds with similar modes of
action. Recent independent
assessments of UK government
residue data show that official
safety limits for toddlers are
exceeded in some samples. PAN
UK disagrees with the governments
judgement that such residue
levels are no cause for concern.

The alternative pesticides residues report

PAN UK conducted its own analysis of
the 2005 PRC data to highlight some of
the issues that are important to
consumers.

12

4. How and why do pesticides

end up in our food?
Use of synthetic pesticides,
manufactured from petrochemical
materials, has been the norm in
most modern agriculture since the
1950s. These may be applied to
food crops at any stage from
before sowing the seed, during
fruit or grain development and
after harvest. Using these
chemicals is one way of
controlling pests, weeds and other
undesirable organisms that can
damage crop yield or quality. But
there are other ways to manage
these pests, as used in organic
and IPM (Integrated Pest
Management) systems (see
section 5). Unfortunately,
government policies on
agriculture and food safety,
and the industrial scale of
farming and food retail
systems in recent years, have
tended to encourage the use
of pesticides as the dominant
form of pest control. The
agrochemical manufacturers
have profited handsomely
from selling these products,
while many farmers find it
hard to see how they can
reduce their reliance on these
hazardous chemicals.

Although there are strict

instructions on using pesticides on
food crops, including specifying a
safety period between application
and harvest, residues of
pesticides often remain on crops
when they reach the consumer.
This can happen even when
farmers are following instructions
precisely. Fresh fruit and
vegetables are often contaminated,
but contamination can also occur
in wheat and other cereal grains
milled and baked in bread or
cakes, in dairy products, honey,
and meat and fish. Processing
and cooking may remove some
but not all pesticide residues.

13

The amount of pesticide used,

type and toxicity varies
enormously between different
crop types, farmer practice and
regions. For some crops and
pesticides, the residues are
mainly found on the peel or skin,
for example, citrus fruits are very
commonly contaminated with
residues of fungicides applied
after picking, to prevent the fruit
rotting (Box 2). Fungicide levels
inside the flesh of the fruit are
usually well below 10% of levels
on the peel. In others, pesticides
might be applied to the crop seed

or the soil to protect the growing

plants, and some of these can be
absorbed into the entire plant
tissue - leaves, fruit or seeds, and
may remain for weeks. Some
pesticides applied during the
growing season may be broken
down by the action of sunlight,
water or bacteria within a week or
so of spraying, and will not
therefore lead to residues in the
food produced. Others are more
persistent, and can be detected
weeks or months after
application, on food crops and in
the soil and water.

BOX 2.
To distribute fresh produce over thousands of miles and keep it fresh
on the shelf for many days often means applying considerable amounts
of fungicides after harvest to prevent rotting. Most conventionally
grown citrus is treated in the packhouse with imazalil fungicide, which
is routinely detected in residue monitoring. Imazalil is classified as
moderately hazardous in terms of acute toxicity, and is suspected to
have links with cancer, reproductive and developmental problems.
Fungicides may be incorporated into the wax treatments given to citrus
and other fruits to stop them drying out in transit. Sometimes
information on such post-harvest treatment is given on fruit packs or
shipping boxes. In contrast, organic citrus is not permitted to be
treated at all after harvest. Wastage from rotting can be higher than in
non-organic fruit, and the fruit may not last as long in top condition in
your fruit bowl.

14

HOW AND WHY DO PESTICIDES END UP IN OUR FOOD?

Todays demand from supermarkets The same is true for crops grown
and consumers for cosmetically
in the UK, like apples, where lower
perfect fresh fruit and vegetables
residues and reduced pesticide
is a further reason for current
exposure of those in and around
levels of residues in our food.
orchards could be achieved if
People have grown accustomed to consumers were more tolerant of
buying produce with no blemishes minor blemishes or the occasional
or variations in colour and of
insect in their pack of fruit. Harduniform size and shape.
pressed farmers would also
Supermarkets compete fiercely to benefit as they could take higher
persuade consumers that their
risks in pest and disease control
produce is the best, with mainly
methods, if they were not so
Grade I produce stocked on the
pressurised to meet supermarket
shelf. Grade II fruits and
Grade I quality standards and by
vegetables are equally good in
customer demands.
terms of nutrition but may not
quite make the visual
grade. Citrus growers
could definitely reduce
the level of orchard
spraying if customers
were to accept a higher
level of blemishes on
the fruit; this would have
a positive effect on farm
worker health,
environment and
farmers income. If food
importers and
supermarkets would
accept a few more
cosmetic defects and a
little more wastage,
post-harvest pesticide
use could be reduced
If consumers are prepared to buy produce that is
too, resulting in fewer
less than 100% cosmetically perfect, this can
help farmers to reduce pesticide use.
residues on fruit.
15

5. How can we avoid pesticides

ending up in our food?
A number of UK and European
surveys over recent years have
regularly pointed to the fact that
the majority of people would prefer
to have food free of pesticide
residues. Given the prevalence of
pesticide use in food production
how easy is this to achieve? This
section explores some of the
options for our food and farming
systems, with more details for
what you can do as an individual
in section 11.

Organic
Buying organic produce, or
growing your own, is perhaps the
way in which one can be most
confident of avoiding pesticide
residues in food. Organic
production does not allow the use
of toxic synthetic pesticides.
Instead, organic farmers use
ecologically-based strategies for
preventing and managing pests,
such as pest or disease-resistant
crop varieties, regular crop
rotation to avoid the build up of
pest problems, mechanical or
thermal weeding, and conserving
or introducing natural predators
and parasites which feed on
insect pests.

16

Organic food is in the vast majority

of cases free of pesticide
residues. There are, however, a
very small number of instances in
the test results provided by the
PRC (see section 3) where
residues have been found in
organic produce, as a result of
contamination from conventional
agriculture. Soils, farm buildings
and equipment may be
contaminated from the use of
persistent pesticides such as DDT
more than 20 years ago,
sometimes transported in wind or
rain, so it is impossible to escape
contamination 100% of the time.

Other farming practices that

reduce pesticide use and residues
Residue monitoring data shows
that 70% of foodstuffs sold in the
UK do not contain residues so it is
perfectly possible for more farmers
to grow residue-free food,
although this is easier for some
crops than others. It is also
possible for the food and
government sectors to address
key problems together, for
example, in the late 1990s
residues levels on carrots in
British supermarkets were so high

HOW CAN WE AVOID PESTICIDE ENDING UP IN OUR FOOD?

that the UK government issued a

warning to the public to peel
carrots before eating. Since 2003,
concerted efforts in the food chain
have resulted in a noticeable drop
in residue levels in carrots. What is
still lacking is more demand from
consumers for safe food, and
support from supermarkets and
others to help farmers change to
safer methods of pest
management in all crops.
Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) systems that only use
synthetic pesticides as a last
resort and under strict controls,
when ecological methods of pest
control have failed, can
significantly reduce or eliminate
the need for and use of pesticides.
Whilst IPM does not stop the use

of pesticides, significant
reductions in use should mean
much lower or no residues on the
food produced. Some IPM
systems prohibit the use of
particular hazardous pesticides,
again, with benefits for consumers
and those on-farm. However, as
there is currently no certification
scheme for IPM in the UK (unlike
organic certification with its strict
standards and inspection system),
it is not easy to tell which produce
has been grown with reduced
pesticide use, particularly if you
are buying from a supermarket. It
might be possible to find produce
grown under IPM systems at your
local farmers market by talking to
the people selling but this produce
has no consumer label.

Ladybirds (insert) and other predatory insects can be released into commercial
glasshouses to feed on pests like blackfly, reducing the need for insecticides.

17

6. What about the effects on

farmers and farm workers?
Consumers are right to be
concerned about pesticide
residues in their own diets.
Nevertheless, people working on
farms the world over run the
greatest risks of pesticide-related
ill health. Hundreds of studies
since the 1970s document
poisonings of farmers and
farmworkers, mainly in developing
countries (Box 3). In industrialised
countries higher levels of several
chronic or life-threatening
illnesses are found in farming
communities exposed to
pesticides, compared with the rest
of the population.

For example, PAN partners in

Chile estimate that 2,000-3,000
farm workers are made ill by
pesticides each year, 70% of them
women. Many of these workers
are employed in Chiles important
export agriculture sector, best
known for apples, pears, table
grapes and wine, some of which
you can find on supermarket
shelves in Britain. Chilean
exporters take great pains to
convince their buyers in Europe of
the high quality of their produce,
yet the health and welfare of the
thousands of farm workers
involved seems of less concern.

The insecticide endosulfan has caused several hundred acute and fatal poisonings
among cotton farming communities in West Africa since its introduction in 1999.
18

WHAT ABOUT THE EFFECTS ON FARMERS AND FARM WORKERS

In 2005, 73 people working in an

apple orchard were taken ill with
vomiting, nausea, serious skin
irritation and breathing difficulties.
The trees had been sprayed with
the nerve toxin chlorpyrifos. In an
earlier incident 22 seasonal farm
workers became ill while
harvesting beans. Mainly women,
they suffered severe burning and
sores on their skin, from handling
plants still wet
with pesticide
spray; and
several had to
be hospitalised.
Three years
later, some of
the women
continue to
suffer severe
dermatitis over
much of their
body and are unable to work in
the field. One Chilean member of
parliament stated Its shameful to
admit that such conditions exist in
Chile in the 21st century. Today an
apple or a kiwi fruit is valued more
than the workers who produce
them.

worst pesticide violations in North

Carolina state history. State health
officials are investigating whether
pesticide exposure is to blame for
three deformed babies lacking
limbs or sex organs born to AgMart fieldworkers. Inspectors say
the company exposed workers to
a host of poisonous chemicals,
some linked to birth defects. One
of the most dangerous pesticides
they use was
applied at over
three times the
legal limit. AgMart failed to train
its workers to
handle pesticides
safely, to supply
them with proper
safety equipment
or adequate
water to rinse
their eyes. It also allowed
employees to work in newly
sprayed fields fields that would
not be safe to re-enter for up to a
week after spraying. At least one
study has linked the soil fumigant
methyl bromide to cancer in farm
workers and workers cannot, by
law, be made to re-enter a treated
field for 48 hours afterwards.
Inspectors spoke to one worker
who said he had been out in the
fields while the methyl bromide
was actually being applied.

At least one study

has linked the soil
fumigant methyl
bromide to cancer
in farm workers

It is not just in developing

countries that pesticides can harm
farming and rural communities. In
2005, US tomato company AgMart was accused of one of the

19

In Europe, one in five farm

workers also consider they have
suffered some form of ill health as
a result of working with pesticides.
PAN UK has been contacted by a
considerable number of people
adversely affected by pesticides in
Britain with long-term, debilitating
illnesses such as multiple
chemical sensitivity and chronic
fatigue syndrome. Some of them
are farmers, farm workers or
people who worked handling
ornamental plants. People living

close to farmland that is regularly

sprayed an increasing segment
of the population as housing
estates spread into the
countryside may also become
affected. Unlike farmers who are
generally inside tractor cabs and
wearing proper protective
equipment, these so-called
bystanders are not protected at
all from pesticide drifting into their
homes, schools or workplaces
and are not given prior warning
of spraying.

With housing expanding into rural areas, more people now live close to fields that are
regularly sprayed.

20

WHAT ABOUT THE EFFECTS ON FARMERS AND FARM WORKERS

BOX 3. The health fall-out of banana plantations

The huge banana plantations of Latin America are notorious for intensive
use of hazardous pesticides. In several long-running court cases,
thousands of Central American banana workers continue to seek proper
compensation for sterility and other serious health problems linked to the
extremely toxic pesticide Nemagon, to which they were exposed in the
1980s. More recently, aerial spraying of fungicides in Costa Rica hit the
headlines in relation to nearby peasant farming communities. Along with
plantation workers, villagers near the Limon Coast plantations of Standard
Fruit Company suffer very high rates of chronic dermatitis, respiratory
problems and allergies. Miguel Angel Mora Rojas from Bananito Sur, who
used to work as a flag marker for the spraying, is one of those affected,
with severe skin rashes erupting periodically over his entire body and
preventing him from normal work. In 2004, the local clinic concluded
that pesticide exposure was 80-90% likely to be the cause but they
refused to give him a written statement. Unfortunately by the time I took
action, it was too late to do anything said Mr Mora. What worries me
most is the situation of my mother who suffers from arthritis and cannot
protect herself from the wind which brings the chemicals into our
house. The aerial spraying,
which can be as frequent as 4050 times per season, has
contaminated villagers crops,
livestock and water sources.
Cattle eating contaminated
pasture have experienced
spontaneous abortions and hair
loss and there have been mass
deaths of poultry and fish.

Mr Mora suffers chronic skin rashes

following pesticide exposure.
Photo: RAPAL

21

7. What are supermarkets

doing about this?
Over the last few years, European
supermarkets have started to look
very closely at safety aspects of
the food they sell, including
pesticide residues. This is
particularly so in the UK, where
the British government was the
first to name and shame specific
retail companies exceeding
permitted levels of residues in
food. Many retailers are now
taking steps to at least keep
residue levels below legal limits,
but not all are making progress on
reducing pesticide use in their
supply chain. All major supermarkets
do now stock some organic food.
Several UK supermarkets recently
decided to prohibit some of the
most hazardous pesticides
throughout their supply chain, and
to restrict the use of others, or
phase these out over time. PAN
UKs Hidden Extras web pages
provide links to some of the top
UK retail chains and their actions
and policy on pesticides. Apart
from organic produce, there are
some other consumer labelling
schemes for specific certified
crops or farm standards that
include measures to reduce

22

pesticide use. It is beyond the

scope of this guide to go into
detail about such consumer label
schemes as Fair Trade, Rainforest
Alliance, or less ambitious ones
including British Assured Produce
and LEAF. Other food sector
initiatives and individual companies
are also making progress on
pesticide practice and alternatives
in their supply chains which do not
carry specific labels aimed at the
consumer (see Further Reading).

However, supermarkets are only

one link in our food supply chain.
People also buy food from
markets, corner shops and
convenience stores, and,
increasingly, eat outside the home
in restaurants, take-aways, and
cafes. Pesticide residue and use
reduction programmes need to be
developed in these other sectors
of food supply.

WHAT ARE THE SUPERMARKETS DOING ABOUT THIS?

PAN UK urges supermarkets to carry out the following actions:

Publish their own residue testing results on their website
Develop action plans for tackling the most serious residue
problems
Provide more information for consumers on pesticides used in
their produce
Commit to phasing out the most hazardous pesticides
Provide concrete technical and financial support for farmers to
reduce their reliance on pesticides
Pay a fairer price to farmers, which will help them invest in more
sustainable farming practices
Collaborate with researchers, government agencies and farmer
and consumer organisations to promote alternative methods of
pest control
Engage with their customers and take action on unnecessary,
cosmetic use of pesticides
Monitor and publish volumes of pesticides used in their food
supply chain, and measure progress in reduction
Phase out sale of home and garden pesticides and offer safe
non-chemical alternatives
Stock more organic produce, especially from the UK

23

8. Are pesticides in food and

farming the only problem?

24

People often wrongly assume that

pesticides are used only in the
agriculture sector and that the
most likely way for people to come
into contact with them is via their
food or from living next door to
fields that are sprayed. However,
pesticides are all around us in
many of the things that we
encounter on a day to day basis.

have grown with the boom in the

number of people that are
cultivating allotments. Given that
there are an estimated 15 billion
slugs in the UK as well as other
garden pests, it is not surprising
that many gardeners turn to
substances on sale in garden
centres and other shops that aim
to tackle the problems.

Gardening is one of the most

popular pastimes in the UK: there
are approximately 20 million
gardens in the UK with 10 million
regular gardeners. These numbers

Whilst the active substances

found in pest control products
available to the public are not as
hazardous or as concentrated as
agricultural pesticides, they do still

ARE PESTICIDES IN FOOD AND FARMING THE ONLY PROBLEM?

contain very unpleasant

chemicals. For example, most slug
pellets contain the active
substance metaldehyde, which is
acutely toxic to all organisms that
swallow it. Slugs that die as a
result of metaldehyde are often
eaten by birds and other wildlife;
the poison that killed the slug is
still active and can lead to death
or serious illness. Whilst slugs are
a problem for many, perhaps
most, gardeners, there are
alternative methods for controlling
them that do not require the use of
toxic pesticides.

The bad news is that many of

these substances are used
indiscriminately under the
assumption that they are the only
course of action for the particular
problem. The good news is that in
many cases there are effective
alternatives to chemicals available.
PAN UK provides information on
its website about alternatives
ways of controlling a variety of
pests in the home and garden
(see section 12).

Another product that is commonly

used in gardens to control weeds
is the herbicide glyphosate, often
marketed as Roundup. Whilst
glyphosate is promoted as being a
harmless substance, recent
research has found it to be
potentially harmful to human
health as well as being toxic to
aquatic life.
Non-agricultural pesticides are not
limited to home gardening, they
occur in a wide range of
situations, including use on cut
flowers, carpet treatments,
woodworm and timber treatments,
controlling head lice and in cat
and dog flea powders and collars.

Herbicides used to control weeds on

pavements and roads often end up polluting
water through the drainage system.

25

9. Who should pay to solve

these problems?
Did you realise how often
consumers end up paying for the
hidden costs of pesticide damage
or contamination? Some of these
costs affect almost everyone, for
example in relation to drinking
water. Water companies in Britain
spend around 100 million each
year to remove pesticides from
household water and these costs
are passed on to consumers as
part of their water bills.
When people
suffer ill health
from pesticide
poisoning they
may have to pay
privately for
specialist
diagnosis and
treatment, as
well as using
the National Health Service, which
in turn costs the public as
taxpayers. A very conservative
cost estimate for British farmers,
farm workers, rural residents and
food consumers harmed by
pesticides is 1.27 million per year
and that does not take account of
any long-term effects on health. It
is impossible to put an economic

value on the physical or mental

suffering caused for an affected
person and their family. Harm to
fish, bees, pets, beneficial insects
and wildlife due to pesticide
pollution is a major cost, and
taxpayers end up paying for
government monitoring and
control of pesticides. Pesticides
also contribute to climate change
because they are mainly
manufactured from oil, using
considerable energy. Overall,
British society
pays at least
163 million a
year in these
hidden costs of
pesticides,
equivalent to
7.43 for each
kilo of pesticide
sprayed.

Overall, British
society pays at least
163 million a year in
hidden costs of
pesticides

26

The hidden costs can be even

higher in poor countries for farm
families and for the country as a
whole. Peasant farmers in Ghana
estimated that they lost 20 days
off sick each season after
spraying toxic insecticides on
cotton. Added to the costs of
treatment this meant losing 27

WHO SHOULD PAY TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS?

per year, for families who earn

less than 1 a day. Mali is one of
the worlds poorest countries and
harm caused by cotton pesticides
costs its citizens at least 6.3
million a year.

users to start paying some of the

costs of the side-effects. Such a
tax should deliver benefits for
farmers by helping to fund advice
on pesticide reduction and
alternatives. Making pesticide use
more expensive also makes
people think more carefully about
how much they really need to use.
Different sectors in the food chain,
from farmers to supermarkets to
consumers, all need to pay a share
of the hidden costs. Consumers
also have a vital part to play, not
only by demanding safer food and
farming practices, but also by
being prepared to pay a little more
for their food to allow for this.

It is grossly unjust that while the

agrochemical companies and the
farming sector gain from selling
and using pesticides, the costs of
their negative side-effects are
usually carried by other people.
Latest data from the US estimate
that for every US dollar spent on
using pesticides, virtually a dollars
worth of hidden health and social
costs are generated. PAN UK
believes that all sectors
need to take
responsibility for these
costs and look for ways
to reduce them, starting
with those who profit
the most from
hazardous pesticides.
PAN UK supports the
introduction of a
pesticide tax as one
element of a
comprehensive
programme for
pesticide reduction. By
taxing pesticides,
Over 50,000 tonnes of old, unwanted pesticides are
governments could
scattered across Africa in poorly maintained stores,
oblige pesticide
leaking into soil and water. Removing this toxic waste
will cost over US$ 150 million.
manufacturers and

27

10. Some good news stories

But it is not all bad news, in fact,
there are many, small positive
steps being taken by millions of
people all over the world to move
away from pesticides. Growing
and buying organic food and
textiles is one obvious route,
although it is still difficult for many
farmers to make this shift and for
many consumers to find or afford
organic produce. PAN UK fully
supports the organic ethos and
also believes it is essential to push
for change in the 97% of the
farming sector that is non-organic
and still relies on synthetic
pesticides.

There are increasing numbers of

encouraging initiatives and
success stories. For example, in
the last eight years, almost 2,000
small and medium scale farmers
growing rice, vegetables, fruit and
nuts in Iran have drastically cut
back their use of insecticides,
thanks to season-long, practical
training in Farmer Field Schools.
By learning about natural methods
of pest management and
experimenting with safer and more
sustainable ways to grow a
healthy crop and conserve soil
and water, these farmers have
also been able to save money, get

Organic Farmer Field School for vegetable farmers in Ghana.

28

SOME GOOD NEWS STORIES

better harvests and earn more

income for their families. Rice
farmers have cut the number of
pesticide sprays from around nine
per season, to just one or two, and
some have managed to do without
pesticides altogether. The trained
farmers are now producing rice
that is free of residues and are
raising local consumer awareness
about pesticide hazards and
building demand for safe food and
farming. An added bonus is that
the dramatic reduction in pesticide
water pollution is helping to
protect the endangered Siberian
Crane, a rare and beautiful bird
that breeds in Iranian farmland.
In several African countries,
farmers are getting involved in
organic cotton production, as a
healthier and more profitable
farming system for their
communities. PAN UK works with
partners in Europe and Africa to
build greater market demand for
organic textiles and clothing,
encouraging small and large
businesses, fashion designers and
consumers to opt for organic and
to help support more
environmentally friendly and
socially just livelihoods for Africas
millions of poor cotton farmers.

In Europe too, some progressive

companies and farmers
associations are cutting back on
pesticides. The Walloon Integrated
Production Fruitgrowers
Association (GAWI) in Belgium,
created 20 years ago, supports
almost 50 apple and pear growers
to reduce their use of pesticides
and to manage their orchards to
encourage wildlife and natural
pest control. GAWI carries out
training and research on
sustainable orchard production. It
markets members fruit under a
special FruitNet label, in one of the
main Belgian supermarkets and
through schools and farm shops.

The FruitNet label

29

SOME GOOD NEWS STORIES

BOX 4.
In Senegal, PAN UK and PAN Africa work with 2,000 farm families
growing fruit and vegetables, either organically or with greatly reduced
use of pesticides. Madame Jeanne Diatara of the Senegalese Network of
Women in Organic Agriculture & Fair Trade promotes closer links
between organic farmers and consumers in Senegal. She says You can
certainly taste the difference between our organic tomatoes and those
on the local market that are full of chemicals. But only a few consumers
really understand the difference so we farmers need to raise awareness
of the Senegalese public of where their produce comes from and how it
is grown. Mr Elhadji Hamath Hane, organic farmer and founder member
of AGRINAT, which runs a weekly market stall, explains further: Growing
vegetables by organic or other methods that do not rely on pesticides
certainly requires more time and effort but there is currently no market
reward for safer food in Senegal. We need to develop market outlets that
recognize the extra effort and expense in growing without hazardous
pesticides. Five farmers associations trained in organic and IPM methods
now plan to supply residue-free produce direct to Senegalese hospitals,
as sick people deserve the healthiest food available.
They plan to combine this with educational
leaflets about the hazards of pesticides for
consumers and for farming communities.

30

11. What can I do personally?

(1) Firstly, do not stop eating fruit
and vegetables! Eating the
recommended five a day is
important to good nutrition.
(2) Consider, however, what foods
you and your family eat most
frequently. If you are unable to
switch to a completely organic diet,
start with buying organic produce
for those foods which you eat most
often or which are most likely to
contain pesticide residues. Up to
date assessment of pesticide
residue data is available on the
PAN UK web pages (details on

page 34), but at the date of this

booklet, the ten worst foods for
residues during 2000-2006 were
flour, potatoes, bread, apples,
pears, grapes, strawberries, green
beans, tomatoes and cucumbers.
Conversely, foods which were least
likely to contain residues were
squash, cauliflowers, corn-on-thecob, peaches and plums, so you
would not need to prioritise buying
organic versions of these. Note that
this information is only accurate for
food tested on sale in the UK. In
other countries, the worst and least
contaminated may be different.

31

(3) Wash non-organic fruit and

vegetables well. Do not eat the
peel of non-organic citrus fruit
that is where the highest
concentration of residues is. If you
are using the peel, buy organic.
(4) Buy fruit and vegetables that
are not cosmetically perfect! They
will taste the same, and be just as
nutritious. Many pesticides sole
function is to produce the perfect
fruit/vegetable. Only when
consumers show that they are
willing to buy blemished produce
will supermarkets and growers
have to stop hiding behind the
argument that its what
customers want when asked
about their pesticide policies.
(5) Organic box schemes for fruit
and vegetables, and often other
foods, are increasingly available
across the UK. These are often
supplied by local growers, so
farmers tend to
get better
prices for
their
supplies,
and the
food
miles of
the goods
can be lower:

32

all good reasons to support these

schemes. Farmers markets
(another good choice for the
support of local growers) usually
sell conventional as well as
organic produce; again, try to buy
organic for those foods you eat
most frequently. You can take
advantage of direct contact with
farmers to ask them about their
pesticide practice.
(6) Ask questions of your local
supermarket what are they
doing about reducing residues?
Are they improving their labelling
to give better information to
consumers? Are they supporting
growers who are making efforts to
reduce or phase out pesticides?
You can find suggestions on PAN
UKs Hidden Extras web pages for
contacting your food retailers to
demand change.
(7) Grow your own organic fruit
and vegetables! This way, you will
know that nothing toxic has been
used on them. Even a window box
can grow a crop of salad; a small
patio can accommodate pots of
tomatoes. Sign up to receive PAN
UKs regular tips for organic
gardening. See section 12 for
organisations which give detailed
advice on growing organically.

WHAT CAN I DO PERSONALLY?

(8) Cotton is the most pesticide

intensive crop in the world and
many poor cotton farming families
and workers in Africa, Asia and
Latin America suffer poisonings
and fatalities. By purchasing
organic cotton clothing, cotton
wool and sanitary products, bed
linen and other textiles, you are
contributing to chemical-free,
healthier and better livelihoods for
a cotton-growing community.
Unlike food, pesticide residues in
non-organic cotton items are not
monitored. Although these
generally pose less risk than food
residues, for many people with
skin conditions, such as eczema,
and small children, it makes sense
to avoid all skin contact with harsh
or harmful chemicals. You can find
out which UK stores and
companies now sell organic cotton
products via PAN UKs website
www.WearOrganic.co.uk.

policies you can contact your

MP, relevant Ministers and your
European Parliament
representatives. Contact PAN UK
for details of how to get active and
get up to date via the information
on the PAN Europe website
www.paneurope.info
(11) Buy Fair Trade and
Rainforest Alliance labelled
produce, as these schemes take
an important step in reducing or
eliminating some of the most
hazardous pesticides, therefore
better protecting farmer and
worker health, and encouraging
farmers to shift to safer pest
management.
(12) Finally, get better informed by
reading some of the information in
the list below and on our website.

(9) Support organisations, such

as PAN UK, Garden Organic and
the Soil Association, who are
campaigning to make real
changes in the ways food is
produced.
(10) Have your say as a
concerned citizen on UK and EU
pesticide, food and farming

Subscribe to PAN UKs Gardening Tips

for tips on pesticide free garening

33

12. Further reading and

resources
A reference list for the information mentioned in this booklet can be
accessed via the PAN UK website under Publications, and an electronic
version of the booklet can be downloaded.

PAN UK Publications
Web pages accessible via PAN UK home page www.pan-uk.org
Hidden Extras: the pesticides in your food.
Detailed information on residues and monitoring.
Food and Fairness: Changing supply chains for African livelihoods
and environment
Issues of supporting small-scale farmers to shift to safer pest management
and growing healthy food for African and European consumers
www.WearOrganic.org
All about organic cotton, including a directory of UK retailers, plus reports
on pesticide problems in conventional cotton

Web directories
Disposal website
Info for UK householders on how to get rid of unwanted home and garden
pesticides safely. http://www.pesticidedisposal.org/
Directory of least-toxic pest control solutions and products
Alternatives for home & garden use in the UK.
http://www.pan-uk.org/Projects/Local/alt~dir/a~z~pest.htm

34

FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES

Books and reports (*indicates those downloadable from the PAN UK website)
The Chemical Trap:
Stories from African fields
Colour booklet, 2007*.
My Sustainable T-shirt
Colour booklet, 2007*.
The deadly chemicals in cotton
Report, in collaboration with Environmental Justice Foundation, 2007*.
Living with Poison.
Problems of endosulfan in West African growing systems.
Report, 2006*.
The alternative residue report 2005:
what the government doesnt tell us.
Report, 2005*.
Pesticides in schools and how to avoid them!
2005.
Pesticides in Your Food.
Poster, 2005*.
Exposed:
Rethinking pesticides in our homes, gardens and communities
Video for community groups, 2004.
Peoples pesticide exposures:
Poisons we are exposed to everyday without knowing it
Report, 2004.
Pesticide exposure and health:
the PEX briefings
Set of leaflets, 2003*.
The Dependency Syndrome:
Pesticide use by African smallholders
Book, 126 pp, 2003.

35

FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES

The Pesticide Trail:

a student investigation
Video and workpack for secondary school students, 2003.
Silent Invaders:
pesticides, livelihoods and womens health
Book, 342 pp, 2003.
Learning to cut the chemicals in cotton
Training manual, 2000.
Organic cotton:
from field to final product
Book, 272 pp, 1999.
Gardening Tips
Pesticide-free gardening tips-electronic leaflet, every 6-8 weeks at
http://www.pan-uk.org/Info/gardening.htm or email roslynmckendry@panuk.org to receive these by email

Books available from the PAN UK bookstore

The Pesticide Detox:
Towards a more sustainable agriculture
Ed. J Pretty, Earthscan, 2005.
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson. Latest edition of 1962 classic, Penguin, 2000.
Not on the Label:
What really goes into the food on your plate
Felicity Lawrence. Penguin, 2004.
Stop the 21st century killing you
Dr Paula Baillie-Hamilton. Vermillion, 2005.
Having Faith:
an ecologists journey to motherhood.
Sandra Steingraber. Perseus Press, 2002.
Living Downstream:
a scientists personal investigation of cancer and the environment Sandra
Steingraber. Random House, 1998.

For details on how to obtain these and other printed publications, look
at the web pages http://www.pan-uk.org/Publications/index.htm or
contact admin@pan-uk.org.

36

Other resources on organic food and gardening without pesticides

Garden Organic
Garden Organic provides lots of simple advice on
how to grow food and flowers organically in your
garden and can help community groups and
schools to start an organic plot.
www.gardenorganic.org.uk
Soil Association
The Soil Association promotes sustainable,
organic farming and championing human health.
Their site has lots of information on organic food
and farming for consumers and producers.
www.soilassociation.org

Pesticide Action Network UK

Development House
56-64 Leonard Street
London
EC2A 4LT
T: 020 7065 0905
F: 020 7065 0907
admin@pan-uk.org
www.pan-uk.org

Pesticide Action Network UK

Development House
56-64 Leonard Street
London EC2A 4LT
T: 020 7065 0905
F: 020 7065 0907
admin@pan-uk.org
www.pan-uk.org
PAN UK works to eliminate the dangers of toxic
pesticides, our exposure to them, and their presence
in the environment where we live and work. Nationally
and globally, we promote safer alternatives, the
production of healthy food, and sustainable farming.

ISBN: 978 0 9549542 6 0